Ttiomas iiooues, 

 English philosopher 



After Dobson 



HOBBES 



Veldes being glad to collaborate in 

 his productions. Among his works 

 may be cited, as typical of his 

 quietly intimate style, The Avenue, 

 Middelharnis, with six other paint- 

 ings, in the National Gallery. 



Hobbes, JOHN OLIVER (d. 1906). 

 Pen-name of the British novelist, 

 Pearl Mary Teresa Craigie (q.v. ). 



Hobbes, THOMAS (1588-1679). 

 English philosopher. Born at Mal- 

 mesbury, April 5, 1588, and edu- 

 cated at Mag- 

 dalen Hall, 

 Oxford, he 

 became in 16 10 

 tutor to the 

 grandson o f 

 the duke of 

 Devonshire. 

 The connexion 

 thus formed 

 with the Cav- 

 endish family 

 was main- 

 tained intermittently during the rest 

 of his life. His next pupilwas the son 

 of Sir Gervase Clifton, and in 1631 

 he became tutor to the son of his 

 first pupil. On each occasion a 

 continental tour was part of the 

 scheme of education. Botk at 

 home and abroad Hobbes met some 

 of the most eminent men of the 

 time notably Ben Jonson, Bacon, 

 Galileo, Descartes, and Selden. 



His first objects of study were 

 classics and mathematics, but it is 

 as a political philosopher that 

 Hobbes is chiefly remembered. In 

 1640 he wrote a defence of mon- 

 archy, published later as two 

 separate treatises entitled Human 

 Nature and De Corpore Politico 

 (On The Body Politic). In view of 

 the political situation Hobbes 

 thought it wise to leave England 

 after this revelation of his opinions, 

 and spent the next eleven years 

 abroad. He returned to England 

 in 1651, made his peace with the 

 Commonwealth, and after the 

 Restoration received a pension 

 from Charles II. In 1651 his 

 greatest work, The Leviathan, had 

 appeared, and though the political 

 theories were acceptable to the 

 restored monarchy, the Church 

 accused its author of atheism. He 

 died at Hardwicke, Dec. 4, 1679. 



In his system of ethics, Hobbes 

 reduces everything to terms of self- 

 interest , e.g. friendship is merely 

 the sense of mutual dependence, 

 and religion is essentially fear of 

 inscrutable powers. He conceived 

 mankind as living originally in a 

 state of anarchy in which "the 

 whole life of man is solitary, poor, 

 nasty, brutish, and short." To 

 abolish this anarchy and its re- 

 sultant evils individuals agreed to 

 resign the rights to a sovereign 

 power, not necessarily one man, 



4013 



and the sovereignty thus created 

 for the common weal must be 

 despotic and irrevocable. 



This political theory, though 

 partly vitiated by the fact that it 

 is quite unhistorical, exercised an 

 extraordinary though largely nega- 

 tive influence upon subsequent 

 thinkers such as Rousseau, while 

 disagreement with Hobbes's purely 

 ethical conclusions proved to be a 

 most stimulative influence in the 

 realm of ethical speculation. 

 Hobbes's style is unadorned but 

 amazingly clear and forceful. See 

 Leviathan ; consult also Hobbes, G. 

 Groom Robertson, 1886, and Life, 

 Leslie Stephen, 1904. 



John McEain 



Hobbs, JOHN BERRY (b. 1882). 

 English professional cricketer. 

 Born at Cambridge, Dec. 16, 1882, 

 he first played 

 county cricket 

 forCambridge- 

 shire in 1903, 

 but qualified 

 by residence to 

 lay for Surrey, 

 or which 

 county he first 

 appeared i n 

 John B. Hobbs, 1905. In 1920 

 English cricketer he aggregated 

 2,827 runs for the season. He has 

 several times represented his coun- 

 try versus the Australians, and 

 played for the M.C.C. team in 

 Australia, 1920-21. 



Hobby (Falco subbuteo). Migra- 

 tory falcon found in the southern 

 districts of England during the 

 summer. Of graceful shape, about 

 a foot in length, and of reddish 

 colour with white throat and 

 breast, it feeds upon small birds 

 and insects and is useful to the 

 agriculturist. It was formerly used 

 in hawking (q.v.). 



Hobby-Horse. Old-time fea- 

 ture at fairs, pageants, and other 

 popular festivities. It consisted of 



Hobby-Horse. Popular figure at old 

 English fairs 



From a print published by T. Tegg in 1839 



^ HOBHOUSE 



a gaudily coloured pasteboard or 

 wooden figure of the head and hind 

 quarters of a caparisoned horse 

 girt round the , waist of a per- 

 former, who imitated the cur- 

 vetings of the animal. 



The character appears with the 

 other persons of the morris dance 

 on a painted window of a house at 

 Betley, Staffordshire. " Hobby- 

 horse " was one of the names given 

 to the " draisive," an early form of 

 bicycle propelled by the feet, in- 

 vented by Baron von Drais, and also 

 denotes a toy horse, and the horse 

 of the merry-go-round. Like the 

 modern "hobby," the term has been 

 applied to a favourite occupation 

 or topic. Hobby comes from mid. 

 Eng. hobin, perhaps a corruption of 

 Robin, a name given to a horse. 

 See Bicycle. 



Hobgoblin. Traditional elf or 

 goblin, generally of terrifying ap- 

 pearance. The prefix, Hob, is 

 probably a corruption of Robin, 

 and the name may have originally 

 represented only the Robin Good- 

 fellow of English folklore. 



Hobhouse, ARTHUR HOBHOUSE, 

 BARON (1819-1904). British law- 

 yer. The son of Henry Hobhouse, 

 a civil servant, 

 he was born at 

 H a d s p e n , 

 S omerset, 

 I Nov. 10, 1819. 

 N J . I Educated at 

 I Eton and Bal- 

 I Hoi College, 

 -^.-"ffcl Oxford, he 

 HHHfeP^NBi became a bar- 

 1st Baron Hobhouse, rister, and 

 British lawyer soon enjoyed 

 a large practice in the chancery 

 courts. In 1872, having then re- 

 tired from work, he was appointed 

 legal member of the council of 

 India, but his best work was done 

 between 1881 and 1901 as a mem- 

 ber of the judicial committee of 

 the privy council. In 1877 he was 

 knighted, and in 1885 he was made 

 a baron. The title, however, ex- 

 pired when he died, Dec. 6, 1904. 

 Hobhouse, SIR CHARLES EDWARD 

 HENRY (b. 1862). British politician. 

 Born June 30, 1862, he was the 

 eldest son of Sir C. P. Hobhouse, 

 to whose baronetcy he succeeded 

 in 1916. In 1892 he became Liberal 

 M.P. for E. Wilts, and from 

 1900-18 sat for E. Bristol. In 

 1907 he was made under-secretary 

 for India ; 1908-11 he was financial 

 secretary to the treasury ; 1911-14 

 chancellor of the duchy, and post- 

 master-general in 1914-15. 



Hobhouse , HENRY ( b. 1 854 ). Brit- 

 ish politician. Born March 1, 1854, 

 and educated at Eton and Balliol 

 College, Oxford, he was for some 

 time a practising barrister, and in 

 1885 was returned to Parliament 



IHHJ 



*&im 



